I'm interested in puting some sort of aftermarket suspension on my 88 firebird. Does anyone know of any good kits I can buy that would improve my suspension without being extremely pricey? Thanks

 

It really depends on how far you like to go. As a start I recommend changing all the stock bushings to aftermarket poly (www.P-S-T.com makes some good kits), also replace your shocks is a good first start. After that you can look at other improvments.

 

What about springs? is that worth doing or would i only want to do that if I wanted to lower the ride height. I also read a post about a sway bar or something like that, would that be a good idea too or do you think that i should first get the bushings and then if i decide i want even better handling then to go out and get more stuff?

 

Springs I would only do if you like to lower the car (or even cut your original springs a bit).

If your car have sway bars (should have) measure the thickness of the front and rear and you can benefit from installing a larger front bar for sure. I did this on my 84 and it made a big difference. To keep cost down you can find a larger bar at a junk yard and then get new poly bushings and end links for it.

Replacing front and rear bushings to poly ones will make a big difference.

 

how about sub frame connectors only, like me...or would i need anything else that is extremly needed???

 

SFC's helps body flex specially if you have a t-top. But without the other mods I'm not sure if you would notice a difference. I have a t-top without SFC's but I've replaced all OEM bushings with poly and new shocks as well and it makes a big difference specially on a 15 year old car.
I thought about SFC's but I don't like to weld them or modify my TTA to fit them.

 

http://www.p-s-t.com 's kits are really made with http://www.energysuspension.com bushings, by the way. The guys on here helped me out with that one; I almost bought a PST kit, but went right to Summit instead and bought the ES bushings individually. ES makes a pre-packaged kit, too, but if you already have some of the bushings, it's a waste of money. ES's pre-packaged kit only saves you $1 or $2.

If your suspension is all original, just get the shocks and struts changed, have an alignment done, and put on two sets of Energy Suspension # ENS-9-8117G . (That's a part # for http://www.summitracing.com ) They're anti-sway-bar "end links", come two per kit, which means you can do one bar per kit. That'll put you off to a good start, and you'll feel an improvement!

 

what brand do you guys think is beter the "Energy suspension" or the "Prothane".
because the price is almost the same for the kit & the Prothane say that theirs dont squeak & they give you a lifetime waranty.
But that might be all BS.

 

i think i will just stick to subframes connectors, not as if im racing nascar or nutin...

 

The prothane bushings are just black graphite impregnated Energy Suspension busings. The ES bushings are cheaper. You decide.

 

you never said what you intend to do with the car.

daily driver, only.
daily driver with some drag racing
daily driver with some open track sessions
open track car with some daily driving
... you get the idea.

You could look into doing the front suspension with an ES kit, find some WS6 sway bars at a junk yard/classifieds, some new struts and shocks, install SFC's and you'd have a new car, as far as the ride goes. Add a quick ratio steering box and improve the braking and it'll become even more fun to drive with the proper tires.

It's all a matter of what you want out of the car. Mine was a street racer, then just a daily driver and is now a track car only that see's a road course about once a month.

 

im looking for a daily driver with maybe a drag race once or twice a year. lookin to put more power to the ground,better launching, yet being able to handle well when "street racing" those imports
on the highway...

 

Prothanes bushings are NOT graphite impregnated. Dont know where you got that from. The graphite impregnation doesnt work like they thought it would. I know I have a set on my car. The suspension is so tight that it doesnt work correctly. If you want a softer ride go with GM 1LE bushings they used a harder durometer rubber but its still fairy soft for street use. The best thing is the GW Al\delin combos, but be warned the ride isnt as nice as stock.